Moon Over Hogwarts
by millie-mione
Summary: Maude Moonshine has just moved to England and is now set to go to Hogwarts. Can she make it without the gang?
1. Default Chapter

Maude Moonshine stepped through Platform Nine and Three Quarters and perused her new surroundings. This year her family moved back to England, and Cackle's Academy was just too far for her to travel, as her mother put it. She saw all the groups of young friends approach each other with warmth and a strong sense of faliliarity that made her feel like the odd man out. She watched a dirty blond haired girl and a brunette hug, and she thought of herself and Millie.

She knew that this year was going to be a disaster. She didn't know anybody, and most of these people, as she was sure of it, belonged to cliques. She already missed Ms. Cackle's warm smile. She knew that her headmaster would look and act somewhat like Grand Wizard Hellibore, straight-backed and pompous. She felt like a canary in a flock of eagles.

Miss Hardbroom assured her that Hogwarts would give her the finishing touch that she needed to reach her peak. She told Maude that she wasn't a bad student at all, that in fact, she was impressed with her skills as a young witch. She said that she regretted her social selection and that matriculating in a more rigid environment would straighten her out, set her on the right path.

Ms. Hardbroom, formidably stone-faced wonder, Maude was sure that every teacher would be just like her. She shuddered to think on it and boarded the train. She looked among the faces of others and decided to sit in a compartment where she saw a boy with red hair sleeping. He wasn't' aware of her, and she would certainly take care so as not to pay any attention to him.

No sooner did she sit down than did a boy with black hair and green eyes come and yell," Wake up, Ron!" The red head boy didn't stir.

She jumped, and the boy with black hair gave her a passing glance.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to give you a start," he said.

"It's okay," she said shyly.

"Your accent is different."

"I'm from Canada. My family just moved here. I'm Maud Moonshine,"

"Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you."

"Same here."

"It looks like he's not waking up. Let me try."

Maude shook him, and he turned to the other side and resumed his nap.

"Still asleep, I see. You'd think that he'd stay awake after ten hours of sleep," a girl with bushy hair said sternly. She sounded a bit like Ethel Hallow.

"Hermione, this is Maud Moonshine."

"Oh, hi, I'm sorry; it's just that he asked me to help him finish his summer essay."

"Oh...." Maud said looking at Ron.

"Where are you from Maud"?

"Cackles Academy in Canada. My family is from England, but my mom is from Canada. My grandfather recently took ill, so we had to move back."

"You don't seem too happy about coming here."

"No... it's not that. It's just that I miss my friends."

"Well, you'll make some new ones at Hogwarts."

Hermione looked around and said, "Oh, no, here comes trouble."

Maud stuck her head out to see what it was about. She saw a blond boy with two black- haired lackeys.

"Oh look, it's Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber. Where's Tweedle Dumbest"? Malfoy asked silkily.

"What do you want now, Malfoy"? Harry asked in a tired voice.

"To see what you were up to, Scarhead, and to see the new student that my cousin Ethel told me about. It's funny, she said that you'd be from a family with far too many kids and far too little money which if I add up makes you almost as poor as Weasley there."

"Well, that explains why you resemble a stuck up pig, like your stuck-up, over pampered, and snotty-nosed cousin Ethel." Maud said in a tone that suggested spitting a bad taste from her mouth.

"You know I should warn you that I don't take kindly to people who insult my family."

"You started it, and besides, it's true. You seem to like picking on people just as much as Ethel did. You let these two follow you around as bodyguards so you won't have to eat your words when it's time to rise to the occasion, just like Ethel did. So if you stuck your nose in it, it's not my fault."

"I warned you. Now I'll just have to show you," he said through gritted teeth pulling his wand out.

Harry and Hermione reached for their wands, but got a surprise when Maude waved her hands. Malfoy and his friends floated away like they were streaks of cloud.

"There, that should take care of him."

"You know wandless magic." Hermione said.

"Yes. We didn't use wands at Cackles."

"Two years ago, he could've taken me. It's fortunate that I've mentally mastered my spoken spells and don't need to say them out loud as often as I used to."

"I'd love to learn a few of those kinds of spells," Hermione said.

"What's going on"? Ron asked half yawning.

"You just missed it. Maude here just took care of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle with a wave of her hand," Harry said.

"Maude"? Ron asked looking quite perplexed.

"Yeah. Pleased to meet you."

Fred and George came down to greet Harry and the others and to show them their new joke stuff. Harry and Hermione grinned at each other mischievously.

"Hiyah, Harry, Hermione. We've just developed new products. Would you like to see"? Fred asked.

"Yeah. Oh, Fred, George, this is Maud Moonshine. She's new."

"Oh, hi. We're the local entrepreneurs of the satirical arts. If you ever need anything in the joke line, see us."

"I'll be sure to." They reminded her of Fenny and Gris in a way. They were confident and cool, yet knowledgeable in a masterful fashion.

"Ey...what are you smiling at"? George asked playfully.

"Oh... you two remind me of my two friends Fenella Feverfew and Griselda Blackwood. They were cool like you guys, and they had all the latest gadgets. "

"You hear that, Fred. Maud here's cut us to the quick. She's just told us that we're not original. She says that there're two out there just like us."

"Well, it looks like we have to prove our reeputations, defend our honor."

"Oh, no. I'm sure that you two are quite unique."

"Well, far be it for us to pass over a challenge. Give us a month and you'll forget all about Ferny and Gruz."

"Fenny and Gris. It's too bad that they're not here. You all would get on together nicely."

They gad on as the time passed until they reached the Hogwarts Platform. They got off, and Maud stared at the giant who approached. Hagrid took offense and asked whether or not she'd ever seen a giant before. Harry apologized for her and introduced her.

Maude apologized saying that she'd read about giants but had never seen one before. They went into the Great Hall. Maude got sorted into Gryffindor. She was about to

cry; because, she had her grandfather's old HufflePuff tie, and he wanted her to be sorted into his former house. She cheered up when she saw her friends from the train.

She told them about her granddad, and she soon learned from their comments that not being sorted into hufflepuff was quite the blessing. She also remembered that her grandfather had a tendency to stretch historic details.

When the feast ended, they adjourned to their rooms. They accompanied each other to Potions class. Maude could see that Malfoy, Fred, and George were not the only things that were similar to Cackles' staff and students, but that her Potions Master was a male replica of Miss Hardbroom.

She got her first four potions correct, but when he asked the ckass to make the restorative potion, she instead made the elixir of life after she dropped her flax seed. She would have gotten away with it had Malfoy not 'accidentally' tripped while bringing his solution to the Professor Snape's desk to be tested for accuracy. He toppled her cauldron, and all the quills turned into birds, and the desks and paper back into wood. This most unwelcome miracle cost her a week's detention with professor Snape and twenty-five house points from Gryffindor. She remembered being sore at Millie for the Hellibore disaster, and knew how much Hermione must've hated her right about now.

"He's like that with everybody unless you're in Slytherin, "Hermione said.

"Yeah, if it hadn't been you, he'd have found someone else to pick on," Ron said.

Maude reported to the dungeon for detention. When she approached the door, Professor Snape stood waiting for her with his arms folded just like Miss Hardbroom.

'Oh, Millie, you have no idea how much I miss you,' she thought as she bit her lip shyly mrking the stern teacher's steady gaze.

"I'm curious, Miss Moonshine. Where did you learn to make the' elixir of life'potion? I think that it's a little advanced for you."

"My teacher Miss Hardbroom taught us."

"Indeed. Why is it that you didn't heed my instructions"?

"I dropped my flax seed, sir, and I knew that the 'elixir of life' was as close to your restorative as I could get."

"Deception, Miss Moonshine"?

"No, sir. I didn't intend to deceive you, sir."

"Then what do you call not telling me about your flax seed, and then trying to concoct a solution that you thought that I wouldn't be able to differentitate, Miss Moonshine"?

"Ingenuity"? Maude remarked shyly.

"Ingenuity. Well... we'll see how ingenious you are at handling the doxie problem in my cellar. I've laid the ingredients out for three types of doxy repellants. You'll make them and after you've used them, you'll tell me which one is the most useful in a twenty-five hundred word essay. Oh, and don't bother to get anyone to help you with the ingredients. I haven't taught these potions to anybody here."

With that, Professor Snape left her in a cold and forboding silence that made her feel more anxious as each moment passed. All she had was her prior knowledge to keep her company. She never thought that she would say it, but she'd have given anything for Miss Hardbroom to be there to oversee her in this new venture.


	2. Trial and Error

Maude assembled the universal pest repellant from memory, a viscous solution that was like glue on flypaper, and a scentless mist. She created a scentless mist; because, she knew that doxies liked the smell of wood, specifically aged wood; the older, the better.

The first day, she used the scent repellant, and they flew about seeking new wood. It was amusing to see them wander about aimlessly. She was quite pleased with herself until the moment came that they realized that she was the source of their woes, and they flew to bite her. She puffified them, and returned to the dungeon where Professor Snape sat wearing his usual expression.

"You puffified the doxies, Miss Moonshine. I'm afraid that you'll have to write five-hundred more words in your essay as penalty."

"But, sir..."

"That'll be all, Miss Moonshine."

The next day, she set her glue traps and waited for an hour. She caught twenty-seven of the little vermin. 'Mr. Blossom couldn't have done better himself,' she thought. She collected the traps, and then she placed them into a bin.

"Finished already, Miss Moonshine"?

"Yes, sir."

"No. I'm afraid that I've got more for you to do. I'd like for you to remain for another forty-five minutes, and to tell me what's become of the quarry after this time."

Maude obeyed. She waited the forty-five minute period and went to the bin. It appeared that the doxies were now purple. She knew trhat from her lessons in the third year with Miss Hardbroom that any yell, orange or red, or purple was a bad sign. She saw one wriggle free from the glue, and she transfigured them into mushrooms.

"Again, you cheat by using a spell, Miss Moonshine"?

"No, sir. I saw that they were purple, and I know that any red, orange, yellow, or purple is a sign of toxicity."

"Miss 'Hardbroom' taught you that no doubt"?

"Yes, sir, Professor Snape."

"That was a rhetorical question, Miss Moonshine."

"I'm sorry, Professor Snape."

"I don't want to hear any useless apologies. Your essay is now 4500 words."

She felt as if she could just tear away from her body and run in seventy thousand direct-ions to escape her dilemma. Who was this guy, Attila the Hun? Was he tireless in his punishments, or was this just his way of just creating toturous activities to expand the scope of human suffering?

Today was her final experimantal procedure with the doxies. She sprayed the area and left the cellar. They tore at the furniture and the cheesecloth that covered the jars of supplies. When they saw that the old odour of the cheesecloth was not that of wood they threw the containers all over the floor breaking them and creating a colossal mess. She started to use a spell, but then thought better of it. She went to get Professor Snape to tell him what happened, and he said," Well, it seems that you've learned your lesson. I hope that you'll learn to be honest and to follow directions as I give them to you in my class during future lessons."

"Yes, sir. I will, sir. Please, forgive me."

"You may go, now, Miss Moonshine."

"Thank you, sir."

Oh... and Miss Moonshine. There's something that I forgot to ask you."

"What is it, sir"?

"Which of your solutions worked best"?

"None of them really worked as well as I thought that they would, which is why I guess you gave me this assignment for detention. I messed up either way. When I dropped the flax seed, it wasn't fresh anymore; because, it's too fabric-like and picks up too many extra things like dust particles that ruin potions if the dirty flax seed is used. When I tried to cover it up by concocting the 'Elixir of Life,' I made my problem even bigger by trying to cover it up when I made such a potent solution."

"Very good. Your essay if forfeit, but let me warn you, another slip like that, and you'll be in a lot more trouble than you were before."

"Yes, sir, I'll remember."

She didn't know why he'd been so lenient with her, but she quickly made distance between the two of them and went to bed. She chided and berated herself harshly and thought of Millie again. It seemed that she was Mildred's guardian angel at Cackles, watching over her during her every perilous step out of line, but who was here for her to prevent and buffer her every perilous step?

"Maude, where have you been? Harry Ron, and I have been looking all over for you. "

Maude looked at her new friend and decided that she wasn't so alone after all. She just

lost one friend to distance, but grace gave her five new friends. Still, feeling somewhat guilty for being happy, she thought about the others and wondered whether or not they were thinking of her too as she looked up at the stars outside the window.

Far away on the other side of the world, a girl with toussled dark hair usually worn in pigtails visits the principal's office yet again for goofing up in class, but she goes alone realizing that something, no 'someone' is missing. Her friends wait for her in the main hallway waiting to hear what she has to tell them about her latest disciplinary encounter.

She sees them, and seeks commiseratory warmth, but still an important presence is missing.

"We all miss Maude too, Millie, but you've got to pay better attention in class. She's not here to help you anymore," Jadu said while the others nodded. The girl hears some of the missing presence in her friend's words and looks up at the daytime sky with deep longing.


End file.
